Steering wheel



BEST AvAxLABLE com Nov. 2 1926.

A H. N. MOORE STEERING WHEEL Filed Jan. 25, 1926 *JM/zg www wwwattomxmf;

Patented Nov. 2, 1926!.

UNIT-En STATES PATENT OFFICE..

HENRY N. MOORE, vOIE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ROCKY MOUNTAINSTEEL PRODUCTS, INC., OFLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION F CALI-FORNIA.

f STEERING `WHEEL.

' jap'piicafimi mea Janary 25, .1926. serial No. 83,455.

l Thisinvention relates tol steering gear constructions and' moreespecially to that form ofsteering gear having a wheelthat is movablyconnected with, the shaft 'so that the drivermoffthe automobilecan-,displace thesteering wheel,. thus enabling him to enterth'e driversseatwith greater ease than is thecase'in automobiles. not provided withdisplaceable steering wheels.

to provide a simplesand cheap construction of this character that isapplicable to dirigible vehicles and air and water craft and thatises'pecially applicable to small, inex-y pensive automobiles now beingmanufactured and sold to such a large extent.

Another object and novel feature of this'' invention consists of the`ability to convert a nontilting type of steeringwheel into a,

tilting type bythe attachment of this small and inexpensive device whichcan be done quickly and without change of the nontilt-4 ing parts. t U

A feature of importance 1s embodied 1n the way the two main members fitinto one another at the center, the upper member. piloting itself into ashallow vcounterbore in-thelower member and the lower edge of.;

the upper member is held in Contact with 3 the bottom surface ofcounterbore in the lower member, relieving to vquite an extent thestrain on the hinge pin and preventing a rocking tendency of theattached steering wheel.

Another object is to make provision for utilizing all of `the presentsteering wheel by providing an attachment having two hingedly connectedmembers.

Another object is to make provision for hingedly connecting the steeringwheel with the steering shaft by providing an attachment that can besecured in place without changing any part of the steering wheel.

Another object is to provide an attachment of this type that can bereadily installed by simply removing the nut on the upper end of thesteering shaft, taking off thesteering wheel, substituting my attachmentin place of the steering wheel by placing it on the shaft` securing theattachment to the shaft by screwing an ordinary nut on -ingwheelspiders, the rim and spider re- .hicleg Fragments vof the vehicle bodyand steering gear construction in Figure 1` the theshaft in place of thenut that has been removed, then placing the steering wheel .on the,attachment and, finally, placing the uut-thathas beenv removed from thesteerbled.

l I Anotherfobject is to provide a steering Anyimportant object of theinvention 1s` Ytilting of the spider and rim of the wheel of thesteering gear of an automobile or other" vehicle or craft, an attachmentthat utilizes vthe rim andspider as furnish-ed by the maker of thevehicle.

K A lfurther object is to provide an attachment of `this characterhaving a member ttingl between the flanges of existing steerqufring nomachine work or change of. any description and the attachment beingcapable of being installed in a fewv minutes with very little labor.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a steering gear construction embodyingthe invention, Athe steering wheel being thrown out of its operativeposition so as to admit of ingress and egress ofthe driverofthe ve- S0top are also shown.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of that portion of the steering gearconstruction embodying one form of the invention, as illustrated inFigure 1, the parts being shown in latched position, which is theposition they occupy when the steering wheel is in position for use.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the steering wheel being in itslatched position. Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation 0n theline indicated bv 4--4. Fiffure R,

The steering shaft is indicated at 11 and is of the type found incertain well known 9" types of automobiles, there being a key 12 in theshaft for engaging the keyway provided in the hub of the steering wheelthat is provided for turning the steering shaft.

In this instance, however, the steering wheel M0 .having been takenofi". the key 12 engages a keyway 13 in the hub 14 of a member 15 whichis hingedly connected at 16 to another member 17, the hub 14 having abore 18 through which the shaft 11 projects. To hold the member 15against being pulled off of theshatt 11, a nut 19 is. screwed onto the-shaft 11 above the upper face yof the member 15. The member 15, in thisin- Stance, has a. shorter -arm20 and a longer arm ;21..and themember1-7 is also. provided with a shorter arm 22 and a longer arm 23. Thehinge pin 16 connects the longei'arms 21, 23.

The membei` 17 is provided witha hub 241` having e shouldered bore 2e,the larger rort'on, of said; bore eioooril;molliI the nut- 1.9 andtheheed; 25foif e studfZQ-[ he stud 2,6 projects throueh `the, bore. 2,7of, the heb 28 of e" Steering Wheel' 251, and. Projecting let-er- Iiesinalie .Way'fethe hie 2.8; St-nd 26 has 'atireaded portion 31 in which isserewed e oer out .32. In this instance,

y there S. e Washer ''between die 1m32, and

the hub 2 8. The 'shoulder 29 and keyWay 30 prevent` turnin of the studwhile they I The hub 241 projects into a recess 36- in the hub 14 o fthe member '15, andthe wall of the recess is preferably tapered to litthe tapered outer wall of the hub 241. s'o 'that when the members 15,17are closedtogether the hub 241 will wedgedly engage'the `me1n,

ber 15, and this, together with the hinge connection between themembers'l, 1'7, provides for transmitting turning movement of the memberl17 to the vmember 15,'to efl'ect turning of the steering shaft y11 forsteering the vehicle, in a manner well understood in this art. To holdthe members 1 5, 17 in closed position with the. hub 241 wedgedlyengaging the member 15, there is provided a suitable latch 37 which' isyieldingly held in latching positionl by a coil'springf'38. In thisinstance, the latch 37 is pivoted at 39 to the arm 22 and the coilspring 3 8 .Sur rounds the pivot 39 and has one end bear- 4 ing againstthe arm 22 and the other end insertedv in a hole 40 in the latch 37, thedirection of winding of the spring being such as to tend to hold'thelatch 37 inwardly t0- ward the arm 20 so that when the members 15, 17are closed together, a shoulder 41 on the latch 37 will engage beneaththe arm 20, as in Fig. 3. Preferably, the latch 37 has a beveled'or'sloping tip'42 and the end of the arm 2() a rounded portion 43 topermit factory7 the key 12 engages the .keyway :50,

and the nut 32 is screwed onto. the shaft 11 above' said wheel to holdthe wheel assembled on the shaft 11.

"To install "the linvention on automobiles .already equipped with aSteering Wheel, the

ol'ov'ns operations are performed: The

'rieb 3.2. ildtthe' Steering wheel 'Will be removed thee exposing the.errer end. of the shaft l1 to View- "lhejiilventoli will' then beinstalled by Placing the member l5 over theelepel: eaolo'f., the ,Shaft:1.1. with the, key l2 eiezeaae the. keywey 1.8L Thefmember 17beii'ig''rai-sed.intq'open position, the nut .19 will be, Screwed ortothe' Shaft 1.1- Then thel stud 2 6 ywill'be vinserted in the hub 241 andthe steering wheel'will be applied over thestud so as to bring the arms22, 23 into alignment with the interiange spaces of two ofthe arms o fthe steering wheel spider. The spider arm with which'the arm 23 engages4is preferably that one which is in i front of the steering shaft whensaid shaft is in position to steer the vehicle straight ahead, thusinsuring that when the steering l wheel is thrown into its openposition, as in Fi -1, it will move upwardly and forwardly from thedrivers seat.

.The washer 33 will then be applied to the stud and the nut 32 screwedon to said stud.

The operation of the invention will be understood lfrom the foregoingbut may be briefly described as follows: Assuming that the member 17 isin the latched position shown in Fig.'3,. the driver with his hand willpull the'lower end of the latch 37 toward'him so as to release it fromthe member 15, and at the same time he will grasp the lower portion ofthe steering wheel 'with his other handand lift on the same so that,

as soon as the latch 37 is disengaged, the i.

steering wheel will be swung upwardly on its hinge pin 16 to theposition shown in Fig, l.' The driver may with ease then get out of hisseat. Aft-er the driver has returned to his seat, he may replace thesteeri ing wheel by pulling it down 'until the latch 37 engages beneaththe member 15; The parts are then locked in position so that the wheelcan be used for safely steering the automobile.

It will be seen from the foregoing that, when installing the inventionon automobiles that have already been constructed, the entire oldsteering wheel, including the spider thereof, can bev utilized.

I claim A steering gear construction comprising a steering Wheel havinga hub and having arms With spaced flanges, a member having i armsextending between the iianges, a second member hinged to the firstmember, latch means to reieasably hold the irst mentioned member againstswinging away from BEST AVAILABLE COP\ a the second member, means todetachably secure the second member to the upper end of a steeringshaft, and means detaohably securing the first mentioned member to thehub of the steering Wheel.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 17 day of December 1925.

HENRY N. MOORE.

